Praying With Passion

ASHER YATZAR Wonder of Wonders

Simple translation: Blessed are You, HaShem our God, King of the Universe, who formed man in wisdom and created in him many orifices and cavities. It is revealed and known before the throne of Your glory that were one of them to be ruptured or blocked, it would be impossible to survive and stand before You. Blessed are You, HaShem, Healer of all flesh who does wondrous deeds.

Theme: The essence of the prayer
Appreciate the wonder of the human body as an expression of Hashem’s unfathomable wisdom.

Insight: Deeper meaning…
Man is created with “many openings and many cavities.” The Midrash Tanchuma notes that the numerical value of the Hebrew words “chalulim chalulim—cavities, cavities” is 248, which is also the number of organs in the body. If even one of the cavities, such as the heart, stomach, or intestines were ruptured; or if one of the openings, such as the mouth, nose or anus were blocked, one’s body could not function properly.

We conclude the blessing, “Blessed are You, Hashem, Who heals all flesh and acts wondrously.” Rav Yonasan Eibeshutz explains that recognizing the wisdom and wonder of the human body creates a powerful awareness of Hashem: “One who is proficient in anatomy recognizes Hashem’s great love for man and the wisdom involved in his creation. One becomes aware all his needs are performed by different organs—some are hard while others are soft, some are dry while others are moist—and yet they work together precisely. “How great are Your works, Hashem, You make them all with wisdom!”

“If one would contemplate this, he would purify his heart from all iniquity, and he would insert in his heart a love and awe of Hashem…”

Halacha: During the day, after relieving oneself, one must wash his hands and recite the bracha ASHER YATZAR immediately (Mishneh B’rura 165:2), to praise Hashem for His wondrous creation of the human body. B’di’avad, he may recite it until he feels the urge to go to the bathroom again (Mishneh B’rura 7:1). By reciting ASHER YATZAR we acknowledge that the delicate balance of the organs in our body is a miracle, as is the human being’s unique fusion of the spiritual soul with the physical body.

Visualization: Images that bring prayers to life…
The following is an essay written by Kenneth M. Prager, M.D. about the blessing “Asher Yatzar” as seen from the eyes of a doctor.

There was one unforgettable patient whose story reinforced the truth and beauty of ASHER YATZAR for me forever. Josh was a 20-year-old student who sustained an unstable fracture of his third and fourth cervical vertebrae in a motor vehicle crash. He was initially totally quadriplegic but for weak flexion of his right biceps.

A long and difficult period of stabilization and rehabilitation followed… With incredible courage, hard work, and an excellent PT, Josh improved day by day. In time, and after what seemed like a miracle, he was able to walk slowly with a leg brace and a cane.

But Josh continued to require intermittent catheterization… The urologists were very pessimistic about his chances for not requiring catheterization. They had not seen this occur after a spinal cord injury of this severity.

Then the impossible happened. I was there the day Josh no longer required a urinary catheter. I thought of Abayei’s ASHER YATZAR prayer. Pointing out that I could not imagine a more meaningful scenario for its recitation, I suggested to Josh, who was a yeshiva graduate, that he say the prayer.
He agreed. As he recited the ancient bracha, tears welled in my eyes. Josh is my son.

Q & A
Question: I often wake up in the middle of the night to use the bathroom. Must I wash negel vasser (Netilat Yadayim) and recite ASHER YATZAR? Should I wait until the morning to recite the bracha?
Answer: If a person wakes up in the middle of the night to use the bathroom, he should immediately thereafter wash negel vasser (Shulchan Aruch, Orach Chaim 4:1,3) and be sure to recite the ASHER YATZAR blessing. One should not wait until Shachris to recite ASHER YATZAR, because if he takes care of his needs again upon re-awakening in the morning (which is most common), he will have missed the original ASHER YATZAR opportunity. The reason is that the “window of opportunity,” for ASHER YATZAR is only until the next time he takes care of his needs (Mishneh B’rura 4:3 and 7:6)
[Ed. note: Even though you wash with a cup, etc. during the night, you do not say the AL NETILAT YADAYIM bracha until you awake in the morning.]  to be continued

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